The Barnabas Connection

Volunteer News

SPRING 2010

Mary Clemens
Teresa Dawsey
Caryl Ferry
Pam Huie
Stephanie Navarro
John Orr
Marilyn Riegler

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Dave spends nearly all of his waking hours helping those who truly need it. He works with Roland Knight building ramps, fixing pipes, heaters and a whole lot of other things. He visits grocery stores to pick up food for the Pantry and he is on the Dental Advisory Board for the Barnabas Dental Clinic. Like a faithful friend, Dave comes "a runnin'" if and when he can.

Dave, born, raised and educated in the Chicago area, is a retired Dentist. He lives in Fernandina Beach with his wife, Nancy. They have one grown son who still lives in the Mid-west. The Bullens are a true Barnabas family- Nancy is one of the Coordinators of the Barnabas Samaritan Medical Clinic as well as a volunteer in the Pantry.

CONGRATULATIONS DAVE!

(Pictured above L-R: Board President Craig True, Executive Director Susan
Holden-Dodge, Dave Bullen, Chaplain Roland Knight)  

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Six years ago, the Barnabas Dental Outreach program was available one-half day a week in Yulee. The patient waitlist was far too long and outnumbered volunteer resources. Change was needed! In the Spring of 2007, with a 3 year grant from the Sontag Foundation, the Barnabas Dental Clinic opened offering dental services to low-income patients 4 1/2 days a week. 

Dr. Frank Gupton and Dr. Daniel Thomas co-direct the clinic. Staff includes a Dental Coordinator as well as a dental hygienist and 2 dental assistants. There are 3 functioning treatment rooms with a fourth to open soon. To date, in this fiscal year, the clinic has had 1080 patient visits.

While I've been tasked with an article on the Dental Clinic, I'm going to take the long way 'round the barn. Sitting with Susan Holden-Dodge, I'm reminded of my first interview with her 6+ years ago to become a Barnabas volunteer. After working weekly as an Intake worker at the Crisis Center, here I was re-interviewing, not for a volunteer position, but as a cub reporter for our volunteer newsletter. What Susan and I discussed, besides details and fact verification, was how Barnabas had NOT changed. The dedication of the volunteers and employees, with their continued focus on doing the best for the clients/patients, remains unchanged.

Now, back to the task at hand: the Dental Clinic. Faced with the loss of the funding - which had allowed such positive changes to the Dental Clinic - Barnabas began to wonder if the clinic would be sustainable. However, knowing that the need for a dental clinic still existed spurred Barnabas. Continuing their "can do" attitude, Susan and her staff worked diligently and were rewarded with a $40,000 Blue Foundation grant enabling the doors of the Dental Clinic to remain open to serve those in need in Nassau county.

(Pictured above L-R: Co-Dental Director Dr. Daniel Thomas, Crystal Cooper and Amy Bahr work on a client's mouth.) 

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"I am a people person and always have been," says Susan Mullis, the Assistant Manager at the Barnabas New to You store. Susan was promoted to this position last December.

Susan and her daughter, Madysen, now 11, came to Fernandina Beach from Gastonia, North Carolina in July of 2008. With a background in manufacturing and retail, Susan began her first job at New to You two months later.

Susan loves working for Carol Reader, New to You's manager, and points out that the entire staff works together as a great team. Always with a ready smile, Susan makes sure all NTY volunteers are thanked and feel appreciated. According to Susan, the best thing about the store is that people shopping there purchase quality items while the people who donate these items know the money generated goes back to the community.

In addition to Madysen, Susan has a dog, "Baby," and she enjoys reading and the beach.

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